House Oversight Committee holds Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of court for disobeying congressional subpoenas

The House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted on Tuesday, in bipartisan fashion, to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after concluding that both defied lawful subpoenas duly issued by Congress.

The resolutions were passed after the Committee determined that the Clintons refused to appear despite being legally required to do so as part of an investigation related to crimes perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The subpoenas had been unanimously approved and issued more than five months before the vote.

"No one is above the law"

Committee Chairman, James Comer, R-Kentucky, said the vote sends a clear message about the obligation to comply with congressional subpoenas, regardless of the subpoenaed individuals' position or background.

As he explained, the committee held good-faith negotiations to facilitate the appearance of Bill and Hillary Clinton, but those efforts failed to get either to appear before Congress on the scheduled dates.

"No one is above the law (...). The Clintons were legally required to appear and instead responded to our good-faith negotiations with defiance, delay, and obstruction," Comer commented.

The subpoena to former President Bill Clinton

Former President Bill Clinton's deposition was initially requested for October 14, 2025 and later rescheduled for December 17. Clinton declined that date, citing the need to attend a funeral.

The Committee indicated that it was willing to accommodate his appearance if he proposed specific dates in January. When it did not receive a proposal, a new subpoena was issued with the appearance set for January 13, 2026, on which date the former president failed to appear.

The subpoena to former Secretary Hillary Clinton.

The deposition of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was initially scheduled for October 9, 2025 and was later moved to December 18. She declined that date as well, citing attendance at a funeral.

The Committee noted that it would agree to reschedule the appearance if specific dates were proposed in January. After declining that option, a new subpoena was issued with a date set for January 14, 2026, on which Hillary Clinton did not appear.

Next step after contempt approved

With bipartisan approval of the resolutions in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the case now advances to the full House of Representatives, which must decide how to proceed following the contempt finding approved in committee.